I agree, but I kinda' get it. It's a show of support, that they really do dig your art, and would like to support you. Still rolls off as static in the end, though.

I'd almost rather get the "good luck!" ones (Almost! But not quite). In the end, it's still as frustrating. I'd rather people show their support by posting more than one word responses to artwork! Eight hours on something posted for free and a lot of comments are "nice" or "gud job".

EPIC, still bothers me the most. At least I know it's appreciated. My problem is I'm mostly reproduction. So I'm not sure how much I could take hearing the colors are off or detail X isn't the same after several hours making and running a design. But in the future when I'm going through your stuff I'll try to offer a bit of opinion instead of monosyllabic praise.

Well, I always take the time to respond to questions or well-written responses. I think it's only fair!

I jsut never know if you can find them buried under a gazilion "goodjobFAPFAPFAP" responses. when there are already thirty or more responses there I normally enjoy the art and go my way then. chances are high I would only repeat after someone else.

I tend to scroll by and ignore anything that's less than one sentence long.

understood ma'am. ^^

yeah that's pretty rough. having money is rare these days and doesn't fit the demographics very well.

That's very true. Hence why furries are not the best crowd to rely upon for one's main source of income. Too young to have money, too far in college debt to have money, too unstable to have money (I kid, I kid... mostly) and so on.

I've had this happen a few times; I can assure you it gets under my skin (and half the time tries to stay there)

I bet, it is a pretty annoying thing to have happen. I often compare it to being in an auction house and standing up to place a bid, only to yell, "Sorry! I can't afford it!"

I don't really mind when people do the "oh I wish I had money" thing - but I've had several people comment with things like "Would X$ be an acceptable price to buy this piece?" or "I have a project for you..." and only after several notes/comments does it come out that the person has no money. Now THAT irritates me.

And then you have to put disclaimers on things, like, "No, will not negotiate down to $5 for $20 worth of materials and $30 worth of labor, thank you very much."

It's not that I don't like people who don't have money, I just don't like it when they lead others on.

Its not even bargaining down - its people wanting work for free. One guy wanted me to do this huge metal-working project, and when I asked him what his budget was his exact response was "None, of course."

Because all artists love to work for free when they could actually make a living with their work. Sometimes it's fun to do trades, but money being tight for a lot of people these days, every little bit helps.

Its especially dumb when you're talking about fabrication - because even if I *wanted* to work for free, there's still the cost of materials to consider.

I totally agree, it gets so frustrating seeing the "I'm poor" comments over and over again. =/ I'm not an artist myself and it gets on my nerves... I really just wanna reply to every comment like that and say "GET A FSCKING JOB LAZABOUT!!!" but I dread the undoubtedly pre-formulated "But I have Asperger's!" replies... 70% of the population at large is in the workforce. 95% of the population between 16 and 60 is. In furry fandom it's more like 50% in that age group. What the Hell is wrong with the furry demographic? I'm pretty shocked and amazed that most can't afford a $5 sketch here or a $10 piece there and always whine about not being able to afford it... =/ I'm not sure you'd see this kind of behavior anywhere else, even on a children's art gallery.

I'd love to see statistics on just who most furries are. I've met all kinds, from ones I'd hang out with on a regular basis to those I'd rather not even share a zipcode with. You get young, hot 20 somethings all the way to 13 year old kids who really shouldn't be here, to creepy 40 and 50 year olds trying to awkwardly hit on artists and fellow furs of either gender.

Don't get me started on E-Aspergers. Argh. Just because someone has a perceived high intelligence and zero social skills does NOT mean they have a mental disorder. It just means they need to grow the hell up and learn to function in society.

I've seen this behavior before, on YouTube, mostly. A video of a kitten enjoying a ball of yarn can spiral into a flame war with death threats.

Well, you can always check the site demographics for FurBuy here: http://www.quantcast.com/furbuy.com

But to be fair, I think most visitors to FurBuy tend to be more adult and have more money than the furry population in general. It's REALLY SCARY to think that the demographics in that link are MORE AFFLUENT than most of furry fandom. =/

Jurann has a point. but this summer... it's not like i didn't try. i had 6 applications out and did a lot of footwork. Most places are cutting back on jobs.
The furry wierdos are not the majority... they're just the loudest. i think most are quite sensible, but largely victims of the economy. (decades of voodoo economics of the Reagan years, and the War on the intellectual middle-class, etc.)

now... i could, i really could spare 5, 10, 20$ for a commission or something... but i think Food is a better idea? food, yeah.

that's horrible. think about it.

Yeah, seriously, I apply for about 30-60 jobs before I get a hit, and I'm a highly qualified professional in my industry with over 15 years of solid proof of my skills. You really gotta cover the pavement as they say. =/ And yes, I agree that the middle class is fast shrinking and our entire economy is coming down, not much just I can do alone about it - it requires social and political reform. =/

Totally agree. I often find myself looking at people's prices and think "damn, I'd love to commission them but have no money"... but I keep those thoughts for myself, and go comment their gallery instead, to show appreciation.

Yep! You have the formula down! I'd think you'd get that comment a lot, though, you seem to do commissions pretty regularly!

I sometimes do, yeah, it's frustrating :/

:o Oh, god.. story of all of our lives.

I want to smack people when they do that.

It's irritating! thanks for posting this.

I've seen it in a lot, both people getting this and being annoyed, or giving it.

If people don't know it's not as helpful as praise on artwork, then they won't fix it.

"I'd rather people show their support by posting more than one word responses to artwork! Eight hours on something posted for free and a lot of comments are "nice" or "gud job"."

There's quite a few artists on this site whose work I really love and wish I was eloquent enough to explain exactly why it is I like a particular piece of art but unfortunately I don't have those skills.

Should I say nothing instead of "Nice piece" or "Looks great"?

Well, adding a little bit to it is a lot more likely to get a response, or saying what you particularly like about it! Always much nicer to get those kinds of comments, it means more than you know!

I think my worry is that most of the time I'll end up saying things like "The background is nice, the character is nicely drawn, the pose is nice. Oh and i like the colouring, it's nice too" >_<

Maybe I need a thesaurus :D

Thinking about it though I can imagine it would be really nice to get comments where it is more than just a word or two, I know if I had spent time creating something I'd appreciate it myself.
I'm going to try, regardless of how silly I look by over using the words "nice" or "good", to post more comments on stuff I like.

Well, to make an artist's day, you need only mention one thing. You might love the way the line art looks, or the expression on the character! When posting things for free, it's very nice to hear that someone noticed what I did in that area! Or if they bring up something nice about the work that wasn't noticed by the artist.

you don't need to get technical. you can always mention that you like a particular feature of a piece of art, be it lighting, expression, whatever. you also can try and give your first thoughts, like "I'd say that guy looks like he'd rather be somewhere else", or that it reminds you of something that happened to you. this can also make any artist's day; it shows that you try to get aquaintanced with the art piece, sotosay, instead of clicking, shooting a glance, clicking away (aka, siomply consuming). no need to employ a thesaurus for it, and what do you know? you might inspire some more art with your thoughts.

just don't be afraid. there are some artists out there for the praise, but most appreciate every little bit of feedback.

Indeedy! I know *I* always appreciate your commentary on my work. =D Whether it's thoughtful, insightful, or just silly, it makes my day.

I'm happy to make anybody's day. :)

Personally I'd prefer that much over getting no comments at all on your pleas for help for 4 months.

Well, I'd suggest using several sites as a means of getting the word out. And if things don't fly off the shelves at one price, I usually try again a few days later, or offer smaller items at a lower rate.

I'm also primarily an illustrator and graphic artist for non-furry works, so... that always helps, too.

Good advice but I don't tend to use many sites and I'm highly limited for my "clientèle" in that all I can do is colour other people's lineart [and further limited in that I refuse to colour lineart without the artists permission, regardless of a commissioner claiming to have been given permission from the artist they had draw it.]

Well, that's a self imposed limitation on the commissioner's part. Have you teamed up with alineart only artist to do co-commissions?

That's an interesting idea but no I haven't I don't know anyone who'd match that description that I'd know well enough to propose such.

Well, you could put out a journal or forum post seeking a partner? I've seen quite a few team ups for commissions on Furbid and Furbuy.

Good idea, posted it as a journal here.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/449896/

I hear ye, Its all I have gotten when I open up for commissions.
Yeah I might be a bit more expensive then some but I'm not gonna undersell my work as a lot of effort and a ton of time goes into it. Getting to hear I wish I could but I don't have money/can't afford your art, is just annoying.

Right! Because if you make under minimum wage with art, it gets kind of pointless as anything other than a hobby. Furry art is dirt cheap in comparison to other venues.

They all want it for FREE, I got a whole yahoo messenger BLOCK list full with those that start of nice and chatty and after a week or so all they do is trying to sucker you into drawing stuff for them for free, by telling you stuff like "wouldn't it be cool if you could draw my character doing *........" *fill in a (8 out of 10 times sex related) activity.

YES! Oh god, yes. I know that trick! Why do you think my AIM is no longer listed on FA? I make everyone go through notes here, now. Ugh.

LOL, yeah, luckily I'm not popular enough to have to hide everywhere.

I feel the same way, And I'm not even the one DOING the commissions!

I just refrain from commenting and hope they get something. =/

Haha! It is rather common to see, isn't it?

It is!

And I know if I was an artist, that would absolutely piss me off.

I wouldn't care about you not having money, when I was the one opening up because I Need it.

It's almost like they want you to feel sorry for them not having money either. =[

If they REALLY wanted to help, they could post a journal or something saying "So-and-so are open for Commissions!" or something like that.

I dunno.

I really didn't mean for that to sound super Rude. D:

You do have a good point, it does seem as if they're trolling for sympathy in a way, doesn't it? "Feel bad for me, I'm poor." Yes. That sucks. I'm trying to NOT BE POOR by doing art.

xD

Exactly.

Yeah, amazing how when porn is endangered, furries can cough up like $20,000, huh?

I am at a loss. I don't think I am a typical furr I write, and my demographics are wrong. My living has nothing to do with my art so I have only a poor understanding of the disappointment of comments offering support when you need work $$.

I watch more than I can keep up with and generally do not comment on work with several comments. Some work I want to acknowledge as something that cought my eye. Some work I want to critique. Your work and stile I enjoy and from time to time I would like to express that. I really have little helpful to offer and your stile does not fit well with what I am working on right now so critiques and commissions just are not in the cards. How should I let an artist know that their work has cought mu eye?

My suggestion for comments is to think about just what you really like about the piece. It is the coloration? The lines? The anatomy? The pose? The way the artist renders a particular species? Why do you like it? Would you like to see more of that kind of work? Even a little encouragement goes an awfully long way! If the artist hasn't asked for a detailed critique, don't worry about it, just let them know not just that you do like a piece, but why!

In your work it is generally the use of color and the implied glimpse of a story that I find appealing. Your subject is often more sophisticated than I can match in my own work, but I can keep working at it and I may yet write some thing up to your ilastration.

hell at least people say I would commision you right?
I've had two people commision me over my entire art career.
my ex who is like a brother to me and my friend online.

and now i'm doing 3 dollar badges to help me get to FWA.

But no I can understand your hatred for those words. Because it gets your hopes up and then they drop like an H Bomb.

Well, did you want help with trying to improve or gain commissions?

o.O I would love help.
And I would be seriously grateful for like the rest of my known existance! *flail*

It's like a double-edged sword tbh

The first part is "you're good", but when it comes to "I have no money" it signals they're not serious enough to actually "want" it

Something's putting them off but usually they don't mention what it is

Until you get that fixed then you'll end up keeping everything you make, then saying to yourself "I'm worthless" and then chuck it in the bin :/
A waste of time and resources.

I don't usually comment on journals but here's my two cents:

I totally agree. The way I see it, it's border line rude to say "if i had the money..." A lot of people here use their art as a living, and have FA as a way to advertise that to pay of rent, bills, etc. On the other paw, like what White-Dragon said up there, they need/want their money's worth on the art. It's up to the artist's digression (I think that's the right word?) to choose the price they sell the art. if people say "i can't afford it' its almost an insult to the artist and their choice.

This is why i usually go with trades or random free art events. My art's not really popular enough to profit from commissions. I like the art trades because at least you feel like you got something out of it.

IMO, Respect the artist, their choices and their needs. Like what you said, if you genuinely can't afford it, don't say it. Some people comment for the sake of commenting and that's the first thing they think of.

I noticed that there was a discussion about critique a few comments up. My general rule of thumb is: don't beat a dead horse (pardon the phrase, but I couldn't think of an equivalent). If someone's already said it, don't repeat it. The artist has already received, and appreciated the message. Saying "nice background" or "nice coloring" over and over again must get as annoying as the "I would buy but i can't afford" thing. ( I wouldn't know, I don't get a lot of comments to begin with, but I'm going with logic here ) If you feel you absolutely MUST post, expand on it from "Nice coloring" to "I love the coloring here because _______" Mind you, that can get a little repetitive depending on the artist too.

Anyway, there's my hat in the pile. Sorry if it's hard to understand, I'm a bit drained from being up since 5:30 am for busing to school. ;.;

Heh. It's like the snotty people who look at your work and sneer at your rates. "You're pretty good, but *I* wouldn't pay that much for it." Ha. At least the "I'm poor" crowd generally isn't trying to be mean. When it's like, 'dude, I'm trying to feed myself here and furry art is WAY cheaper than you'd pay in the normal art world', it just makes me want to smack people.

Oh, I can relate - I've had commentors like that myself from time to time.

'Oh, if only my wallet wasn't so empty...'

I feel bad that their funds are lacking, but...really...is there any real point in mentioning that? I mean, it's nice to know that people would buy my images if they culd afford to; however, if they can't, and they mention that, it just...I don;t know..at times feels like they're kind of hoping you'll feel bad and lower the price to something more within their price range. :/

I don't think all the commentors who leave notes like thta are out for the better bargain, but there's got to be a small fraction thta just might be.

Well, I like to think that it's all just a kind note that they would love to buy something... but many of them who do express that sentiment never really ever seem to buy anything from anyone. Heck, I've had people see 5 to 10 dollar items and they're still unable to afford it.

Wait wait...


Was there a cleverly hidden offer for $5 spooge pics?